ABSTRACT
Transformative experiences in an individual's life have a lasting impact on identity, belief system, and values. At the core of these experiences is the complex emotion of awe that promotes learning, making it worthwhile to study from an educational point of view. Drawing studies may provide a useful measure of awe in children-one that is more intuitive and attractive than questionnaires alone. Previous studies conducted with adults indicated that the diminished self, associated with transformative experiences, manifests in an actual decrease in size for figures representing the self in drawings. In the current study, self-representation was investigated in drawings of 10- to 12-year-old primary school children within the context of an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience that elicits the overview effect, known to lead to an intense apperception of awe. We did not replicate the adult findings regarding self-size in this younger age group. However, details and complexity in children's drawings appeared to be impacted by the awe-elicitation procedure in VR. These elements subsequently correlated to learning gains instead of the overview effect, indicating that this measure could be linked to cognitive ability. The findings of the current study contribute to a better understanding of how drawings reflect self-transcendental experiences; however, they also reveal that in younger age groups, they are not necessarily reflected in decreased self-size.
ABSTRACT
The overview effect is the commonly reported experience of astronauts viewing planet Earth from space and the subsequent reflection on and processing of this experience. The overview effect is associated with feelings of awe, self-transcendence, and a change of perspective and identity that manifest themselves in taking steps toward protecting the fragile ecosystem. In the current study, we investigated whether the overview effect can be obtained in school children when simulated using virtual reality (VR) and whether the effect has a positive impact on learning gains. Using questionnaires and attention data in an existing simulation environment used in the school system, we showed that the VR simulation elicits an overview effect experience. Moreover, the experience yields learning gains in the domain of astrophysics. These findings are in line with past evidence regarding the positive impact of awe on learning and can be used to support further investigations of the relation between the overview effect and behavioral changes, specifically for educational purposes.
